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quence, mentions that they were sent back to Poloczk, where they were settled till the reign of the Emperor Paul.

A private accourt of this transaction communicated from Petersburgh, refers its origin to the influence of Prince Galitzin, the minister of public worship, who was greatly exasperated at the conversion to the Romish faith of his nephew, a youth educated at the Jesuit's academy. The general of the Jesuits was sent for by the minister on the occasion, and severely reprehended; and although the society employed all their caution to avoid giving farther umbrage to government, and determined to admit none but Catholics in future into their institution, they could not reconcile the Prince, who continually urged their expulsion from the capital. The restoration of their order by the Pope augmented the suspicions against them; the conversion of some ladies more inflamed the public mind; and on the return of the Emperor from his long absence he was prevailed upon to issue the ukase above cited.

Alexander is generally regarded as the principal promoter of that remarkable convention or treaty between the sovereigns of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, signed first at Paris on September 26th, 1815, and published at Petersburgh in the beginning of 1816, which has borne the name of the Sacred or Christian league. By its articles (see State Papers) the parties reciprocally bind themselves to consider each other as brethren united in the principles of Christianity, and

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resolved to act towards one another, and towards their subjects, according to the precepts of that holy religion. They promise, indeed, on all occasions, and in all places, to lend each other aid and assistance;" but lest this obligation should give umbrage to other sovereigns, they declare their readiness to admit into their alliance all other powers who shall avow the same principles ; and it will appear in the parliamentary history, that the Emperor of Russia communicated to Lord Castlereagh the substance of the treaty before it was signed, in order to be transmitted to the Prince Regent of England, with the hope of his concurrence. As politicians could scarcely conceive of a convention between powerful princes, the sole purpose of which should be to put into practice those maxims of universal justice, charity, and good-will, which have always been held forth in the declarations of sovereigns, but never acted upon, a variety of conjectures were on float respecting its real and secret object; but the tenor of its language, and the total want of all diplomatic etiquette, seem to denote it the product of feeling rather than of design. The manifesto issued by the Emperor Alexander on Christmas day, accompanying a copy of the alliance, and ordered to be read in all the churches, bears every mark of sincere intention.

The vast empire of Russia has afforded few memorable incidents during the present year. The Emperor, with his habitual activity, undertook in the summer a progress

a progress through those parts of his dominion which had been the principal sufferers in the war, for the purpose of affording every practical relief. Moscow, the ancient capital of the empire, was the first object of his survey, and he found it rising fast from its ruins, and putting on the appearance of a splendid and populous city. He was received with all due honours at the Kremlin, whence he issued a manifesto highly laudatory of the inhabitants of Moscow, which was deposited in its archives. In September, from the quarters of the regiment of Iletzki, he issued an ordinance, directing, that on account of the general peace in Europe, the annual recruiting through the empire should cease, and the sixth corps of the army, which was to be broken up, should be employed for completing the land and naval forces.

That his Majesty, however, has no intention to diminish the military force of his territories capable of being called into action when occasion requires, is apparent from the following article of intelligence published at Warsaw on November 21st.

By a decree of his Majesty the Emperor our King, of the 17th of last month, relative to the military conscription, which was was published the day before yesterday in 60 articles, every person in the kingdom of Poland, without distinction of rank, origin, or religion, is for ten years a soldier, viz. from his 20th to his 30th year. Two corps of reserve are to be formed; the conscripts of the first are destined to com plete the troops of the line, and

those of the second come into their places.

From the Conscription are exempt.-Foreigners and their sons born abroad, only sons, one son out of each family, brothers as guardians of their minor brothers, widowers who have children, the officers of state, those married before this decree was published, or who shall be married in future before the age of 20, the clergy, professors, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, manufacturers, artists, with their journeymen; and among the Jews, a rabbi in every commune. Substitutes are allowed. The conscripts of the first reserve must appear at their depôt every year on the 15th of April, and exercise till the 5th of June.

It is a circumstance well worthy of notice, though its final consequences cannot be foreseen, that an official journal, published at Petersburgh in the Russian language, contains an article expatiating in the warmest terms on the benefits resulting to states from a free press, to which the noble energy and patriotical en thusiasm by which England has been so much distinguished, are ascribed. The Emperor's visit to this island, we may therefore hope, has made a durable impression.

The Republic of the Ionian Islands, rendered on various accounts interesting to Great Britain, appears destined to attain prosperity under her protection. One evil to which it is exposed by its situation will probably continue its occasional ravages; and while the government of Turkey neglects every effectual precaution against the contagion of the plague, its immediate neighbours

neighbours will always be liable ed them to military and other

to share in that dreadful calamity. The isle of Corfu, the centre of the insular administration, was visited by a pestilential infection at the beginning of the present year, which was not extirpated during some months, though its devastations were confined within a narrow limit.

An eloquent oration, highly laudatory of the English, and predicting the happiest results from the connection entered into between the republic and this nation, was pronounced at Corfu on the 23d of April, before a great concourse in the church of the patron saint, by the Baron Theoloky, President of the senate of Corfu. Sir Thomas Maitland, his Britannic Majesty's Commis sioner, is mentioned with singular eulogy for his liberal conduct towards the islanders, in respect to their religion, commeice, and other objects tending to improve their condition. Thomas, who soon after returned from a voyage to the other islands, was received with every demonstration of respect.

uses. He had further understood, from a report lately made to him by the high police, that some officers of that department had entered a church in pursuit of a person suspected of a heinous offence. In consequence, his Excellency directed, 1st, That every place of public worship shall be evacuated and given up to the head of the religion to which it belonged: 2. That no soldier, officer of police, or other person, shall pursue any suspected offender into the sanctuary or interior of any church, but shall confine himself to placing sentinels round it to prevent his escape, at the same time giving an account of the circumstance to the governor.

Sir Thomas Maitland afterwards issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of the Ionian isles, informing them, that he was going to England for the purpose of Sir receiving instructions respecting the definitive formation of a constitution for the island: desiring that no innovation might be made during his absence; and expressing his hope, that nothing would prevent his calling together the representative body on his return.

One of the measures which doubtless particularly ingratiated him with the Greek natives, was a proclamation issued by him relative to the rights and privileges of the dominant church. After affirming it to be a fixed maxim of the policy of Great Britain with respect to all foreign countries under her sovereignty or protection, to guarantee their religious establishments, he said, he had observed that the French had forcibly taken away many of the places of worship in the city of Corfu, and convert

Turkey. The Porte, after its long and sanguinary contests with the Servians, concluded a treaty, of which the following were the principal articles:

1st. Servia recognises the Grand Signior as Sovereign.

2d. It retains the liberty of exercising its religion.

3d. Every chief of a family pays annually a ducat, and, besides that, a piastre per head.

4th. No Servian can settle in

Turkey,

Turkey, but he is allowed to be there on commercial business. 5th. The fortress of Belgrade remains occupied by Valipy Pasha.

6th. In time of peace the Grand Signior has the free disposal of a corps of 12,000 Servian troops.

7th. Servia is always to have an accredited agent to the Divan, at Constantinople.

A French ambassador was received with distinction at Constantinople, and the most amicable sentiments were expressed towards Louis XVIII.

In August the Porte exercised its usual mode of calling to account one of the great officers of the Empire. On the 25th, the fleet of the Captain Pashaw or Grand Admiral, 44 sail in number, cast anchor in the road of Smyrna. On the second visit

paid to him on board the fleet by the Governor of the city, Hadgi Mahomet Kialep Oglou, the latter was arrested by his order, decapitated on the same evening, and his head sent by a Tartar to Constantinople. The event threw all the Europeans in Smyrna into great consternation, the governor having protected them by a very rigorous police; but the Captain Pashaw, being informed of their alarm, sent word to the consuls that he would strictly maintain the general tranquillity. Among the crimes imputed to Oglou was his enriching himself by illicit trade; but it is supposed, that the favour shewn by him to the government of Algiers, and the violences which he exercised in dispatching recruits to the Dey, were the real causes of his punish

ment.

CHAPTER

CHAPTER XV.

United States of America.-Opposition to the Commercial Bill with' England.-Treaties with the Indians.-Disputes with the Spanish Government. Decline of Manufactures.-Measures for restoring Payment in legal Currency-Hostility on the Gulf of Mexico.-President's Message.

TH

HE bill for carrying into effect the commercial treaty with Great Britain, which had passed the House of Representatives, was rejected in the Senate on January 19th, by a majority of 21 to 10. The objections made to it had no reference to the merits of the treaty, but took the ground 1st, that it was unnecessary, since the sanction the treaty had received by the President and two thirds of the Senate gave it the full force of a law: 2dly, that to re-enact it by way of bill tended to confer on the House of Representatives a concurrence in the ratification of treaties which the constitution had denied to it, and in effect gave it a power of cancelling arrangements with foreign states constitutionally concluded and ratified.

The treaties of peace with the Indian tribes on the north-west frontier were ratified; and orders were issued, that such subjects of the United States as, without consent, had settled within the Indian territories, should immediately withdraw from them on pain of military compulsion.

In the same mo th the President communicated to the House

of Representatives, three documents, consisting of two letters from the Spanish minister to the American secretary of state, and the secretary's reply. In the first of these, a demand is made of the restitution to Spain of the territory in Florida, west of the Perdido which was taken possession of by the United States in consequence of the Louisiana treaty, intimating, however, th t after it has been given up, the two governments may discuss the right to it. Complaint is also made of the armaments fitted out in Louisiana against the Spanish possessions; and it is required, that the revolutionary flag of South America shall not be admitted into the ports of the United States. The second letter complains, that two bodies of troops of 1000 men each, raised in Kentucky and commanded by American citizens, were to join the expedition fitting out at New Orleans by the traitor Toledo. The American secretary in his answer, speaks of injuries received by them from the Spanish government, which the latter ought to redress rather than make demands upon the American government;

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